So you want to be a teacher?

There's the regular chit-chat: where I'm from, how long I've been here, what I'm studying.  Then I cringe, knowing the question that inevitably follows, "so you want to be a teacher?"

Coming from the US, where almost everyone who is a teacher starts teaching with a Bachelors, and then, if they continue with their Masters, work on it after already gaining some classroom experience, I wasn't expecting that question at first.  I was expecting the professional atmosphere, of colleagues sharing  their experiences, that I had during my grad classes for my ESL certification in the states and I expected those around me to have the same expectation of a Masters level program in education.  

But here, things are different.  In Finland, you can't teach without a Master's degree, and in Germany it seems to be similar, so people assume since I'm working on my Master's degree in education that I want to be a teacher.

"So, you want to be a teacher?" It's a question that makes me feel threatened. The past 9 years of my life, discredited with one blow.  Do I really seem so young, so inexperienced, so unprofessional, that I'm automatically mistaken for a student who's never had a career?

And I know it's never meant to make me feel uncomfortable.  After all, they're just strangers, making small talk.  It's the logical next question for them.

But just once, it would be nice for someone to simply say, "and what do you plan to do once you graduate?" or "what made you decide to do your masters in education?" 

Then I could tell my story in my own words.  

"I love teaching.  But I got a taste of administration when I was the academic director at a school in Colombia, and I really want to continue my professional development so I can be more effective in a leadership role. I'd love to work with a non-profit focused on family literacy when I graduate."

(Of course, now that I've thought out how to say it, I can use that same response to, "so you want to be a teacher?" too.  Perfect.  Here's to me feeling less uncomfortable the next time I'm asked that question.)